The Kennedy Commanders will face off against the Manual Thunderbolts at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Kennedy is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.2 runs per game this season.
Kennedy easily dispatched Denver West on Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Commanders fell just short of DSST: Montview by a score of 8-6 on Wednesday. The Commanders' defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Marcelo Nevarez made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. That home run was his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Xavier Benavidez, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, while Manual put up plenty of runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Jefferson. The Thunderbolts put the hurt on the Jeff Saint with a sharp 13-0 win. The victory continues a trend for the Thunderbolts in their matchups with the Jeff Saint: they've now won six in a row.
Misael Pedro was a standout: he got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Edgar Salas was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.
Manual always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .537. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Jefferson only posted an OBP of .190.
Kennedy's loss dropped their record down to 7-11. As for Manual, their win bumped their record up to 3-13.
Manual's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Kennedy has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9 hits per game. It's a different story for Manual, though, as they've been averaging 10.2 hits. Given Kennedy's sizable advantage in that area, the Thunderbolts will need to find a way to close that gap.
Kennedy skirted past Manual 12-10 in their previous meeting back in April. Will the Commanders repeat their success, or do the Thunderbolts have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
